Holborn and St Pancras by-election result sees Greens lose

Labour has won the hotly contested Holborn and St Pancras by-election, in a result which will be seen as a knock-back to Zack Polanski's continued leadership ambitions.

Leader of Camden Council Sagal Abdi-Wali, 42, took the seat, which became vacant after former Labour Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer stepped down to make way for Andy Burnham and resigned as an MP, on a turnout of 38.8%.

The Green Party conceded defeat before the official result was declared, saying: "It is clear now we will come a close second."

Sagal Abdi-Wali won the Holborn and St Pancras seat (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

Early in the campaign Green leader Zack Polanski declared his ambitions to take the high-profile seat for his party, with the Guardian reporting him as saying: "Greens might be the underdog in this election, but we have momentum, we can win."

The campaign might sound local; however, it came to prominence after Polanski's continued outspoken comments condemning Israel and Zionism – which advocates for the right of a national homeland for the Jewish people but has become associated, in the view of its critics, with military action in Gaza.

This debate culminated in a controversial vote by Green Party members to back a motion at its conference declaring that Zionism is racism. Polanski, who is of Jewish background, allowed the motion to go ahead, but did not himself vote.

While many in the Green Party support the position, some prominent figures oppose it, most notably former leader Caroline Lucas, who told the BBC the motion was 'flawed from top to bottom' and described the vote as 'dangerous' and 'divisive'.

Not everyone was happy to visit their local polling stations (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Green MP Adrian Ramsay, a former party co-leader, also came out against the motion, telling the New Statesman he was 'deeply upset' and believed it did not reflect Green principles.

Outside the party, the voices raised against the motion included the Tories, who said the decision to allow the vote showed 'terrible judgement', according to the Telegraph.

Liam Conlon, an assistant Labour whip, told Sky News: "I think the Green Party need to come forward, the leader, Zack Polanski, needs to come forward and say they will reverse that policy decision."

When Sky News asked whether Polanski would remain as leader despite the defeat, Conlon replied: "Yes, absolutely. That's what leaders do."

The votes were counted into the night on Thursday (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

A Green spokesman said: "Taking the fight to Labour in one of its safest seats shows just how far the Greens have come.

"Voters want us to keep Labour's feet to the fire on affordable housing, public ownership of water and the climate crisis.

"Greens will be there every single day, holding Labour to account and demanding the change people vote for."